Just a Punching Bag
by ElectricSnowman
Summary: For over a decade, Mad Dummy has served as Undyne's punching bag. However, despite pummeling him almost daily, Undyne is quite curious to know more about the mysterious dummy. Just where did he come from? Why is he so intent on not speaking to her, besides his occasional taunts? And more importantly, why does he want to be beaten up so much in the first place? [POST PACIFIST]


**Does anyone else think that Mad Dummy is under-appreciated? I haven't seen any fanfics with him at all, so that just gives me more inspiration to write about him! ^_^**

 **(This is set before my story "Reunited", in which Mad Dummy reunites with his cousin, Napstablook.)**

* * *

 ** _POW!_**

Undyne socked her punching dummy right in the face, sending it careening backwards.

The dummy swung itself back up, glaring daggers at its attacker. "Come on. Come on! COME ON!" He hollered, hopping mad. "My _grandma_ can punch harder than you!"

Undyne gave a shout as she hurled her fist forward again, connecting with Mad Dummy's torso this time.

"Is that all ya got!? HA!" he taunted.

Undyne gritted her teeth. Her leg pivoted and slammed into his face yet again, but this time he lost balance and hit the wall behind him. "Heh. That enough for you?" Undyne grinned.

Mad Dummy hopped back up and shook his head, wobbling around for a moment. "Not bad," he mumbled, regaining his composure.

"Thank you." Undyne cracked her knuckles and stretched her arms for a bit. "Hey, I'm curious...whatever happened to your 'dream'? Y'know, the one with you sitting in a fancy store or something?" She smirked. "This current 'job' of yours seems a little contradictory, don't you think?"

Mad Dummy narrowed his eyes before turning away. "Undyne, what did I tell you about talking to the punching bag?" he grumbled, hopping back to his corner to mope.

Undyne rolled her eyes. "What's wrong with just a simple question?"

Mad Dummy didn't respond, eyes shut. At first glance, people would've believed him to be just a regular training dummy.

Undyne crossed her arms. "Y'know," she pushed some hair out of her face, "Judging by all these years, I bet you already know so much about me...yet, I hardly know anything about you. Where you came from...why you're always so angry...why you enjoy being punched so frequently..." She chuckled at her last statement.

Still no answer.

Undyne sucked in a tense breath. What burned her up the most was the dummy's one rule ever since they had met: _'No talking to the punching bag'_. It was starting to get extremely aggravating.

Normally, Undyne would fret and give in to the dummy's 'rule', returning to her house and soon forgetting all about him. For some reason, however, she found herself still standing in front of him in interest, her memories fading back to when she had met the strange dummy completely by accident.

* * *

"NGAHHH! I'll show him!"

12-year-old Undyne stormed through the garbage dump, kicking away wrappers and punching piles of garbage that crossed her path.

Just moments earlier, she tried to fight Asgore, but couldn't lay a single blow on him. It was majorly humiliating, but she managed to stay determined enough to accept his offer of training her. It would only be a matter of time before she could show the King just how tough she really was.

Despite the offer, though, Undyne still wished to practice in her own time. The only problem was finding something to practice on, though, since her parents wouldn't be too keen on her smashing up everything in the house...

It was then that she saw it—a dummy sitting at the corner by the waterfall.

"Aha!" Undyne trotted over to the dummy, wondering why she hadn't seen it there before. "Prepare to get owned, dummy!" She swung her fist forward and knocked him in the head.

The dummy shook a bit before it's normal, button eyes suddenly became wide and angry. "Hey! Who're you calling _'dummy'!?"_

"AGH!" Undyne jumped back, startled. "It talks!"

"Yeah, I talk all right! What, you think you can just waltz right up to me and beat me up!? Ha!" The dummy's head flailed around in rage. "I'll show YOU!" A miniature floating dummy appeared by his side. "DUMMY! ATTACK!"

Undyne blinked in confusion as the mini dummy soared towards her, harmlessly ramming into her shoulder. She stared as it dropped to the ground like a rag doll. "...Really?"

The dummy anxiously cleared his throat, trying to hide his obvious embarrassment. "It's...um...I'm still working on that attack. I'm planning on getting more dummies..." He shook his head. "OH, IT DOESN'T MATTER! YOU CANNOT DEFEAT—"

 ** _POW!_**

A blow to the head was enough to shut him up, and Undyne chuckled a little, retaining her fighting stance. "You talk too much," she teased.

"Hey. Hey! HEY! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!?" The dummy barked. He remained unharmed, but wiggled around in anger as he tried to avoid Undyne's next attack.

 ** _POW!_**

...And failing miserably.

"Aggghhh!" The dummy balanced himself and opened his mouth to shout again, only to be punched mercilessly again and again.

After this continued for a minute or two, the dummy shrieked loudly in exasperation. "ARGH! FORGET IT—I GIVE UP!" With that, he remained in place and glared at the ground. After all, he knew he wasn't actually strong enough to attack anyone back just yet.

Seeing no fun in further torturing the dummy, Undyne cocked her head to the side and snickered. "You're pretty funny."

The dummy raised a brow at her. "What, do you always talk to your punching bags? Get out of here," he hissed.

Undyne ignored his threat, sitting on her knees. "So, how come you don't seem hurt at all?" She asked.

"I'm incorporeal, you fool! Physical attacks can't harm me!" The dummy growled.

"Really? Cool!" Undyne stood up.

"Hmph."

"Hey, so I guess you wouldn't mind if I used you to practice my fighting skills, would you?" Undyne asked eagerly. After all, this dummy seemed like the only thing fit for her attacks without being completely demolished. "I mean, it's not like you would get hurt..."

The dummy was silent for a moment, debating whether he should answer. His visage softened for a bit as his mind wandered into a completely different world, and he slowly looked at her. _'What's in it for me?'_ he felt like asking, but somehow, he felt as if he should accept. He had stuck around the garbage dump for what seemed like forever, constantly trying to distract himself from the family he practically abandoned...

"Whatever. Whatever! WHATEVER!" The dummy shook his head. "Fine—I don't care! GIVE ME ALL YA GOT!"

Undyne grinned as she hopped up and beat up the dummy again, spending several minutes taking out her anger and frustration over her battle with Asgore on him.

Soon, it was nearing night, and all was quiet throughout Waterfall. Undyne wiped the sweat off her brow and sat on a pile of garbage to rest for a moment. "Well, I better get home now...but thanks for letting me beat you up." She felt weird saying that, but laughed it off and stood up to head out of the dump.

The dummy didn't even regard her; instead, he just stared off into space, feeling strangely satisfied.

"Hey, I almost forgot—I'm Undyne! What's your name?" Undyne looked back at the dummy.

The dummy glared at her, his lip quivering for a moment. He looked like he was about to answer, but shook his head and turned away. "Doesn't matter." Seeing how Undyne didn't move, the dummy eventually gave in, just wanting her to leave so he'd be able to think. "Er...just call me 'Mad'. It's a nickname." He rolled his eyes before snapping, "Could you just stop talking to me!?"

"Why?" Undyne raised an eyebrow innocently. "Aren't you lonely here?"

Mad Dummy suddenly became stiff. His ability to speak was temporarily absent, and he hated the sudden weakness that consumed him. Forcing himself to turn away from her, he growled unintelligibly and turned red. "Listen, kid—if I'm gonna be your punching bag, then there's only one rule that I got: _'No talking to the punching bag'!_ Got it!?"

Undyne frowned, a bit disappointed, but nodded nonetheless. "Whatever you say." She shrugged and walked out of the dump. "I'll be back tomorrow, alright!?"

Mad Dummy didn't respond, but he kept a mental note of her statement. Believe it or not, part of him actually _wanted_ her to come back and beat him up some more. He knew he deserved it, anyway...

* * *

It didn't take long, but soon, Mad Dummy had taken his spot in Undyne's yard, retaining his 'job' and always being there for Undyne to let out all her rage and distress. Even after the barrier had broken, he dwelled in the yard of what was now Alphys and Undyne's house, much to their surprise.

For Undyne, the best part of having Mad Dummy as a punching dummy was the fact that he didn't mind the abuse at all. Yet...that was also the strangest part. Why was he willing to get beat up practically every day without complaint? If anything, it was almost like he _wanted_ to get pummeled...why _else_ would he stick around?

So many questions consumed Undyne's mind as she continued to stare at the dummy, but she knew that she would never get an answer from him. That was another thing—why was he so dead-set on _not_ speaking to her? Of course, it was a habit of hers to make small talk to be polite, but the dummy would always harshly cut her off and remind her of his 'rule' before she could even finish.

"U-Undyne?"

Undyne turned around and looked at Alphys, who had opened the front door.

"I-I was wondering...once you're done, do you—do you wanna watch a movie?" Alphys stammered, and Undyne couldn't help but chuckle.

"Of course, Alphys. Just give me a couple more minutes."

"O-Okay!" Alphys blushed like mad as she shut the door.

Usually, Undyne would've immediately given in to her request, but she wasn't quite finished with the dummy just yet. She shifted to face Mad Dummy, almost doing a double-take when she noticed he was wielding a knife. He was too engrossed in admiring it to acknowledge her, though.

Undyne cleared her throat. "Whatcha...got there?" she asked awkwardly.

He drew back, and she assumed he thought she had already left. "A _knife_ , stupid. Whaddaya _think?"_

Undyne scowled, but felt somewhat satisfied that he actually answered her this time. "And you need it for...?"

"None of your business!" Mad Dummy sneered. "Just stop talking to me and go inside already!"

Undyne's fists clenched. Suddenly, a magic-filled spear shimmered into her grip, and—without warning—she swung it at the dummy at full force.

Mad Dummy nearly fell over backwards and braced himself, but nothing came. Slowly, he opened his eyes to find the tip of the spear just inches from his nose.

"Okay, I've put with your 'rule' long enough," Undyne warned as she loomed over him. "I'm gonna ask some questions, and you're gonna give me some answers. _Got_ it?" She had a death grip on her spear as if threatening to stab him with it.

Mad Dummy shook himself out of his stupor and glared at her menacingly. "What're you waiting for?" He snarled. " _Do_ it! I'm not scared!"

"No." As much as Undyne wanted to, she refused. "First off, I wanna know why you let me beat you up in the first place. I've _wanted_ to know that for nearly a decade."

Mad Dummy fumbled for words while fuming in rage. "I—just—AGH! Come on! Just _DO_ IT! HIT ME!"

"Answer the question!" Undyne demanded. "WHY do you want me to beat you up!? It's not that hard of a question!"

"HIT ME!" Mad Dummy turned as a red a tomato, his body quivering violently.

" _WHY_ do you want me to hit you!?"

 _" **HIT** ME ALREADY!" _ At this point, Mad Dummy was nothing but a disheveled clutter of parts. His head, torso, and bottom all soared in different directions as Undyne struggled to keep eye-contact with him.

Undyne hurled her spear at a nearby tree. "JUST _ANSWER THE QUESTION!"_

The dummy propelled his knife at her, just barely connecting with the top of her head. **"BECAUSE I _DESERVE IT_ , OKAY!?" **came his broken response. **"I DESERVE TO BE KICKED, I DESERVE TO BE PUNCHED, I DESERVE _EVERY BIT_ OF ABUSE THIS WORLD HAS TO OFFER!"**

Silence.

Undyne stiffened, arms still held high from her earlier irritation. Mad Dummy silently placed himself back together, trembling as he did so. He slowly turned his head and stared icily in her direction.

"...What?" Undyne's voice was hoarse, no doubt the result from her earlier tantrum.

Nothing. He didn't even budge.

"What...are you talking about?" Undyne rasped. When the dummy only stared at her, she gritted her teeth, tired of feeling as though she was talking to a brick wall. "Answer me!"

"U-Undyne...?" The front door slowly creaked open, and Alphys timidly poked her head out. "A-Are you alright?"

Undyne tiredly ran her fingers through her hair. "Just...I need a moment, Alphys..." she strained, trying to keep temperate.

"O-Okay..." Alphys nodded and reluctantly shut the door.

Mad Dummy hopped over to his knife and nonchalantly picked it up. "You should leave," he mumbled, staring at it with red, grievous eyes.

"Not until you tell me _why_ you think you deserve to get beaten up." Undyne walked over to the tree and pulled out her spear, brushing some of the dirt off. "And no more of this _'no talking to the punching bag'_ nonsense," she hissed before it vanished in her hand.

Mad Dummy shut his eyes, almost as if in pain.

"You gonna talk? Cuz I'm not gonna hit you. No matter what you do or say, I'm NOT hurting you." Undyne's tone was dead serious.

His eyes instantly opened. "Idiot! You _can't_ hurt me! Haven't you learned a thing after all these years!? Physical attacks—"

Another spear flared into Undyne's hand, cutting him off. "You were saying?" Mad Dummy shut his mouth, mentally groaning. "Now answer my question."

"Why do you even _care!?_ I'm just your punching bag!" The dummy retorted.

"The fact of the matter is that you _chose_ to be my punching bag," Undyne corrected him. "You _chose_ to satisfy me by allowing me to beat you up. Regardless of how many times I've ticked you off, _you never left_. That's saying _something_ , isn't it!?"

"I'm not your friend," Mad Dummy spat, almost accusingly.

"I never said you were," Undyne stated innocently.

"I don't _NEED_ friends!" Mad Dummy hissed, brandishing his knife. "Why do you think I never let you talk to me in the _first_ place!? BECAUSE I DON'T NEED _ANYONE!_ "

Undyne frowned, quiet for a moment as she thought to herself. "Do you _really_ feel you don't need anyone? Or do you just feel as if nobody needs _you?_ " she asked curiously.

That seemed to strike a nerve. **"YOU—"** Mad Dummy wanted so badly just to scream at her to leave, to threaten her and attack her with his only knife...but he didn't. He _couldn't_. Not when he knew what she said was true. "Y-You…" The knife fell from his grip as his control over his tears slipped away.

"Whoa, hey." Undyne's eyes widened, never seeing him actually cry before. "If this subject is really that bad, I can drop it..." She couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity for the usually angry dummy.

"I…I've just messed up so many times..." Mad Dummy shook his head. "I treated my only family like dirt...I abandoned them just because I wanted a body! I couldn't handle it…I just didn't want to deal with it anymore…I'm worthless! Nothing but a self-centered fool!" He whipped his head towards Undyne. "NOW you see why I deserve to be beaten up!? That's why I never once complained about it! That's why I didn't want you to talk to me—because I never wanted to get close to anyone ever again! I'll only screw things up!"

Undyne started laughing, to his surprise.

"WHAT'S SO **FUNNY!?"** he screamed at her.

"It's just that I can relate, to some extent," Undyne chuckled. "I was a pretty hotheaded kid, so nobody really wanted to be my friend. That led me to think I didn't deserve any friends, either...that is, until I met Papyrus. The guy was just so bubbly and friendly, I then came to think that maybe making friends wasn't so hard after all. And then Alphys also came along..." She caught herself blushing and turned away in embarrassment, clearing her throat. "Still, no matter how many times I screwed up or said something I shouldn't have...they were always there for me. The point is, having friends isn't so terrible once you get used to it. Granted, you probably shouldn't take _my_ advice when it comes to making friends, but...you get the point."

Mad Dummy was surprisingly silent. He seemed to be deep in thought, but at least he didn't look as upset.

Undyne glanced back at him and shook her head. "Well, that's my motivational speech for the day. I'll leave you alone, now, if that's what you really want." She shrugged and turned to walk into her house.

"Undyne?" came a low murmur.

She turned around.

"Do you...want to beat me up again later?" Mad Dummy grumbled, and she raised a brow in confusion. "I mean...just for fun or something?" Even though the main reason he wanted to be punched was because he thought it compensated for his selfish actions, he was actually starting to enjoy her company a bit.

Undyne gave a small shrug as she opened the door. "Why not?" With that, she headed inside and shut the door behind her. "See ya, Mad."

* * *

 **I also made a comic of this story on my DeviantArt: fav. me / da178r7**


End file.
